Product Corner: What’s the Difference Between Acidophilus and Lactose-Free Milk?

Welcome to our series, Product Corner, where each month we cover a food-focused topic. The series will feature everything from kitchen tips and food myths to the inside scoop on favorite products. (And that’s just a quick taste of what to expect!)

All right folks, we're busting out some science today. When I first started at Smith Brothers Farms, I couldn't even say (or spell, let's be honest) acidophilus, let alone knew what it was. After a while, I learned to say it, and why it's such an integral part of our dairy line up here. I'm still working on the spelling...

Anyway, in our lineup, we have standard milk, acidophilus milk, and lactose-free milk. So, what's the difference? In a nutshell, regular milk has an enzyme called lactose, and the human body needs to have an adequate amount of the enzyme lactase to break down the lactose. If a body doesn’t have the appropriate amount, that's where acidophilus and lactose-free milk steps in.

Lactose-free milk is exactly that, free of any lactose. It's generally removed by adding lactase into the milk and allowing it to remove the lactose from the milk. I keep picturing Pac-Man as lactase eating all of the little dots (lactose). I'm a child of the 80s, what can I say?

Acidophilus is interesting in that it adds live cultures called lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus). L. acidophilus is in the probiotic family and helps digest the lactose found in the milk. It also provides the same benefits as taking a probiotic supplement, with the added vitamins from milk (tastes better than a supplement too, so win-win!).

While acidophilus or lactose-free may not be for everyone, both are still great options if you're a dairy lover, but dairy doesn’t love you back.

Look for our acidophilus in our milk category!